Students who attend Chicago's Little Village Academy public school get nothing but nutritional tough love during their lunch period each day. The students can either eat the cafeteria food--or go hungry. Only students with allergies are allowed to bring a homemade lunch to school, the Chicago Tribune reports.

"Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," principal Elsa CarmonaÂ told the paper of the years-old policy. "It's about ... the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke."

But students said they would rather bring their own lunch to school in the time-honored tradition of the brown paper bag. "They're afraid that we'll all bring in greasy food instead of healthy food and it won't be as good as what they give us at school," student Yesenia Gutierrez told the paper. "It's really lame."

Source: Chicago school bans homemade lunches, the latest in national food fight (http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110411/us_yblog_thelookout/chicago-school-bans-homemade-lunches-the-latest-in-national-food-fight) by Liz Goodwin

]]>http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/rss-comments-entry-11125244.xmlBidding Frenzy for Tickets to Eat at Next in ChicagoChicagoNextStashTue, 12 Apr 2011 01:37:27 +0000http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/2011/4/11/bidding-frenzy-for-tickets-to-eat-at-next-in-chicago.html279403:9129054:11123891

Taking equal inspiration from Wrigley Field scalpers and the city’s grittiest pawn shops, food- and cash-obsessed Chicagoans have started a vibrant trade in tickets to a new restaurant, with bidding in one case hitting $3,000 for a group of seats overlooking the kitchen.

The cause of this amateur online auctioneering is Next, the newest offering from a local celebrity chef, Grant Achatz, whose acclaimed restaurant Alinea usually has a line. But that’s nothing compared to the frenzy currently engulfing Next, which opened Wednesday with a policy that eschews reservations by phone. Instead, diners purchase one-time-only, all-inclusive tickets — dinner, drinks, tip, gawking — for one set price that begins roughly in the $45 to $75 range.

It is that set price — and, presumably, the food — that has led to bidding wars by diners desperate to order from a menu that requires at least a year of high school French and a gastronomic dictionary (Caneton Rouennais à la Presse, par example).

As first reported by Eater.com, dozens of tickets have been offered for resale, ranging from $500 (a table for two, on a Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.) to six times that for a table for six at the chef’s elbow. (That seller later decided to keep the seats.)

COLLONGES-au-MONT d'OR, France — Seven men in white toques and long aprons bend to their tasks, one scooping hunks of butter into a saucepan simmering on a huge stove, another flicking grains of the ground French red pepper piment d'Espelette from a spoon onto a pyramid of crayfish, a third sprinkles parsley with his fingers.

It is minutes before the lunch hour in the heart of the temple of French gastronomy, the kitchen of Paul Bocuse. The final touches of another three-star meal are executed with military precision.

Bocuse, whose Auberge du Pont de Collonges just outside Lyon has maintained its three stars in the Michelin Guide for 46 years, credits a deceptively simple recipe for that success — good produce fresh from the garden, a superb kitchen staff and happy diners.

"It's the client who runs the house," says Bocuse, a man credited with transforming the role of chef from invisible artist to celebrity. Yet "Monsieur Paul," as he is known, praises everyone but himself for his accomplishments. And he bows to Lady Luck.

This week, the credit is returned when he is proclaimed Chef of the Century by the Culinary Institute of America during a reception in New York.

Beer geeks are already wringing their hands that the sale of Goose Island Beer Co. to Anheuser-Busch -- better known as Budweiser -- will compromise one of craft beer's leading lights.

But Goose founder and Chief Executive Officer John Hall said the brewery's commitment to interesting and creative beer, like the recently released Pepe Nero (a black saison) or the upcoming Big John (a stout aged with cocoa nibs) will not change.

"They didn’t buy us to change what we’re doing," says Hall, who will remain as CEO.

If AB was going to water down the product, "I wouldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have worked 23 years to build what I have to (throw) it away in five minutes."

]]>http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/rss-comments-entry-10979760.xmlU.S. thirst for wine passes that of France for first timeNewsWineStashWed, 16 Mar 2011 01:41:54 +0000http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/2011/3/15/us-thirst-for-wine-passes-that-of-france-for-first-time.html279403:9129054:10806590The long-held place of France as the top market for wine in the world fell to the U.S. last year, according to data released today by wine industry consultants Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates.

Shipments of wine to the U.S. from producers in California and other states and countries increased 2 percent to a record of nearly 330 million 9-liter cases last year from 2009 (see chart), the Woodside-based firm estimated in its periodic The Gomberg-Fredrikson Report. That amounted to a retail value of $30 billion, an increase of 4 percent in that timeframe.

Wine shipments in France totaled 320.8 million in the fiscal year 2009-2010, according to the report.

California wine made up 61 percent of U.S. wine volume sales, or 199.6 million cases worth $18.5 billion at retail. That was an increase of 1 percent from 2009 sales. California’s total wine shipments worldwide to all markets in the U.S. and abroad (including exports) were 241.8 million cases, up 2% from the previous year.

Source: U.S. thirst for wine passes that of France for first time (http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/31043/u-s-thirst-for-wine-passes-that-of-france-for-first-time/) by Jeff Quackenbush

]]>http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/rss-comments-entry-10806590.xmlFreeze Hits VeggiesNewsTomatoesStashWed, 16 Feb 2011 03:26:56 +0000http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/2011/2/15/freeze-hits-veggies.html279403:9129054:10496401A major freeze in Mexico earlier this month has resulted in a shortage across the U.S. of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and other produce that could last until April and lead to higher prices at the grocery store.

Supermarkets, distributors and restaurant chains are scrambling to find other sources for the items and to offer replacements. But the problem has been compounded by the fact that inclement weather has also hit other growing regions, like Florida and Texas, that would normally be able to make up for a supply interruption from Mexico.

"It's extremely unusual for more than one production area to experience abnormal weather in the same year. We are continuing to harvest tomatoes in Florida, but our current volume is maybe half of what it would normally be," said Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, adding that a 25-pound box of tomatoes went from costing less than $15 to more than $30 in the past week.

]]>http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/rss-comments-entry-10496401.xmlDanish Chef Rasmus WIns Bocuse D'or FoodBocuse D'orNewsStashFri, 28 Jan 2011 03:47:39 +0000http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/2011/1/27/danish-chef-rasmus-wins-bocuse-dor-food.html279403:9129054:10259680Chef Kofoed Rasmus of Denmark today won the Bocuse d’Or, a biannual cooking contest that draws the elite of the culinary world to the French city of Lyon.

Rasmus was victorious in a competition where spectators pack the grandstands to cheer on their national teams. The runner-up was Tommy Myllymaki Sweden). The third place went to Gunnar Hvarnes Norway). The best meat platter prize was won by France and the best fish award by Switzerland.

“This is not a reality television show, it’s a real competition,” Daniel Boulud, the chef best known for Daniel in New York, said before the result was known. “It’s important for the restaurant industry to give young chefs an ambitious challenge and it’s the responsibility of established chefs to support them.” He was dining with Thomas Keller of Per Se at Brasserie de l’Est.

]]>http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/rss-comments-entry-10259680.xmlTaco Bell Vows Legal Response to Beef ClaimsNewsTaco BellStashThu, 27 Jan 2011 01:52:04 +0000http://www.dashofstash.com/rehashed-by-stash/2011/1/26/taco-bell-vows-legal-response-to-beef-claims.html279403:9129054:10243817Taco Bell is challenging a class action lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in a California court. The YUM Brands-owned fast-food chain vows to take "legal action" against claims that the beef items on its menu only contain 35 percent of the meat and don't meet government label requirements.

The class action lawsuit, filed by Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, on behalf of a California Taco Bell customer, Amanda Obney, asserts that the majority of the meat mixture used in Taco Bell’s beef items is actually composed of ingredients like water, wheat, oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch. Therefore, the chain doesn't meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards to be labeled “beef,” per the suit.

Taco Bell, however, issued a statement that says otherwise. “At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods. We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef . . . Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later, and got their 'facts' absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food,” Greg Creed, Taco Bell's president and chief concept officer, said in a statement.

The consumer behind the action, Obney, didn't request monetary damages, but the public relations fallout may be incalculable. How much commercial damage has been done remains to be seen. The lawsuit has gotten extensive media pickup, with one outlet featuring a photo of the ingredients listed on a package of the chain’s self-described “taco meat filling.” That story has become one of the busiest pages on the Internet, and consumers have taken to Taco Bell’s Facebook page and to Twitter to express their disgust.

The avalanche of bad publicity comes at a time when Taco Bell has been focusing on a marketing and menu strategy, emphasizing healthier options. Reminiscent of Subway spokesman Jared, Taco Bell has used a female consumer, who allegedly lost 54 pounds in 18 months, in its advertising. ﻿

They comfort and sustain, but when prepared just so, they also deliver panache.

Tradition holds that these healthy tubers and taproots have an affinity for herbs and benefit from roasting or a slow, purposeful braise. Many are great mashed, and some can serve as a stand-in for the common potato chip.

More surprising: They’re making their into desserts, being hit up with vinegar and mingling with fruits for an atypical, enlightened fusion of flavors.

“Root vegetables are the number one produce option this time of year for an obvious reason: They’re what’s most available,” says Andrew Zimmerman, chef at Sepia, 123 N. Jefferson. “But it also has something to do with the fact that people are more interested in and knowledgeable about seasonality and local food.”

During the height of the recession in early 2009, Washington D.C.-based Peter Korbel and Justin Vitarello threw caution to the wind and opened Fojol Bros. of Merlindia, a high-end Indian-style restaurant. Korbel and Vitarello dressed in colorful costumes and answered to made-up names, all while serving up dishes like chicken curry and spicy beef stew.

But Fojol Bros. isn't your typical brick-and-mortar restaurant. Korbel and Vitarello entered into the increasingly popular food truck industry. A far cry from traditional hot dog carts, food trucks now peddle everything from gourmet cookies to lobster rolls. In fact, the National Restaurant Association named food trucks a top trend in its "What's Hot in 2011" survey.

But there's more to this specialty business than buying the food, the vehicle and parking it curbside. Here's what you need to know to steer your own food truck onto the right path.

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